Worry over Christmas pension payouts

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http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/retirement ... _page_id=6

Jo Thornhill, Mail on Sunday
10 December 2007

Post office workers and charities fear that many older people could be left without much-needed cash over the Christmas holidays.


As Christmas Day falls on a Tuesday this year, the Department for Work and Pensions will pay weekly pensions and benefits into bank accounts and Post Office Card Accounts on Christmas Eve for those who would normally get the cash on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

But the majority of post office branches will be open only until midday on Christmas Eve and are likely to be busy. It means pensioners with Post Office Card Accounts, who can only access funds from a branch, may not have time to withdraw their cash before Christmas.

Anna Pearson, senior policy officer at charity Help the Aged, says the cash should have been paid into accounts by Friday, December 21.

'Post offices will be overwhelmed on Christmas Eve, with large queues and the real possibility they won't be able to serve all customers before closing time,' says Pearson.

'Many pensioners struggle to budget at this time of year and it could be disastrous if they are not able to get hold of cash on Christmas Eve before the shops close.'

George Thomson, general secretary at the National Federation of Subpostmasters, is calling on the DWP to pay pensions and benefits into accounts early to ease a Christmas rush. He says: 'Benefits are being paid into accounts on the 21st in Northern Ireland. Why isn't the same happening in the rest of the UK?'

Ken Wilson, 70, right, a retired sign maker from Middlesbrough, Teesside, is one of 4m pensioners and benefits recipients with a Post Office Card Account. He found out about the Christmas payment schedule only last week, but says he and his partner Jean Brooks, 61, a retired postal worker, are now anxious about how they will get their money.

He says: 'The post office opens at 9am and I imagine there will be queues on Christmas Eve. It will be quite late to go out and buy food and supplies – even if we are able to get our cash.'

A DWP spokesman says: 'We discussed the matter with the Post Office which advised us that the arrangements were satisfactory.'

David Simpson, spokesman at Post Office Ltd, says: 'Crown post offices will be open until lunchtime on Christmas Eve. Sub-post offices are entitled to stay open beyond that if they wish. We are confident no one